Star Trek: Starbase 51 -- Takeover
by J.D. Thyme
Summary: This is an original Star Trek series adapted from a Star Trek Repulse: Interactive Simm. In this chapter, Starfleet Intelligence initiates a hostile takeover of a Federation Starbase held by a former Dominion sympathiser. Set just after the end of DS9.
1. Preface

Star Trek: Starbase 51  
  
Preface: An Introduction  
  
First and foremost, if you're not looking for a lengthy explanation as to how this story (or maybe even sets of stories) came about, then you'll likely want to skip on to the next chapter, and ignore this altogether. This is just where I'll give props to those who deserve it, and make a few disclaimers.  
  
The real meat will come later.  
  
If you've never heard of a PBeM Simm, but are a Star Trek aficionado, you might want to check it out. www.PBeM.com has some of the best ones out there, just looking for new fanfic writers who are looking to collaborate.  
  
The reason I mention this is my obvious connection to that genre. Starbase 51 was initially a concept I drew up for one of those collaborations that was short-lived due to personal time constraints. I've always loved the concept, though, and was loathe to simply let it go to waste. With my discovery of this site, I think I may actually have found a suitable outlet, for which I am deeply grateful.  
  
I must note, of course, that the nature of collaborative fiction can cause some issues with copyright as far as the characters in the simm itself goes. So as to not hurt any fellow writers, or step on their toes, I will attempt to take as few liberties regarding using their characters as I can. Some concepts, as they were integral to creating the story, will remain similar, but I will try to change as much of the specifics as possible, including the names and basic backgrounds of the character when complete exchange is not possible. If you were a member of the aforementioned simm, and feel I have taken too many liberties, I will be more than happy to mention you in this portion of the document, and what you have contributed.  
  
As to the story itself, the concept of Starfleet Intelligence is one that has piqued my curiosity for quite some time now. That darker side of Star Trek, the part we never saw other than the introduction of Section 31 and a few mentions in various books or episodes along the way, is one I've always wanted to see its inner workings. When I found a group that based itself on the Star Trek RPG source book for SF Intel, I was hooked. I played various ships, writing various characters, until I was invited to create my own simm. I jumped at the idea, and the concept for Starbase 51 was born.  
  
Now, years later, Star Trek canon has changed, time has moved on, and certain events make it impossible to run the story exactly the way it was done before. That's fine, actually, as it gives me the opportunity to make this story truly my own. As far as ST Canon goes, we can consider all of the current series (other than Enterprise, which is still in its infancy, and seems to thumb its nose at accepted canon whenever it can) to be canon, as well as any books by Michael Jan Friedman and Peter David to be such as well (since I borrow from Peter's ideas on occasion, and Friedman is just way too cool to be left out). I do not intend to use canon characters at all, just the universe they live in.  
  
As for the timeline: this story occurs shortly after the end of the DS9 series. Thus, the war with the Dominion is still freshly over, and Voyager is still lost in the Delta Quadrant, and has only recently been contacted by Starfleet. Other than that, we're all set to go.  
  
Enjoy the ride, and let me know what you think. If this is well received, I may choose to bring the USS Outreach into this as well. Don't ask what that is... it's a secret. 


	2. Chapter 1 -- Parched

Chapter 1  
  
The miniscule bar he currently inhabited held perhaps one of the closest resemblances to a dive that Starfleet has ever allowed on one of its bases. Then again, considering the leadership of the base in question, perhaps this was to be expected. It wasn't surprising to find the stink of treachery that pervaded the commander of the base had spread itself.  
  
Thomas picked up his glass once again, using a towel the barkeep seemed to have forgotten to wipe a thin layer of grime off of both the bottom of the cup and the portions of the bar nearest him. He had found this to be a necessary ritual at least once every few minutes to keep the grime from completely overcoming his drink. After all the latinum he had put down on it, he couldn't afford to waste even a single drop.  
  
Thomas had become quite the regular at this particular establishment, spending hours there gazing at numerous PADDs he kept stashed in his carry bag. He rarely spoke to anyone but the barkeep -- an odd mixed-breed that Thomas liked to think of as a cross between a Cardassian and a Klingon Targh with a bat-liked pig's face smashed on top -- and thus most thought him a lonesome drifter in search of uninterrupted, anonymous rest and relaxation. Thomas saw no reason to disabuse them of their misconception.  
  
Commander Thomas Aaronson had been a member of Starfleet for nearly ten years, yet had a history so spotted that one would typically assume it was the work of three times as many years. After a scuffle with a superior officer that nearly resulted in a court martial, he had been demoted to the rank of Commander, and had not seen the Captain's chair in well over six years. Now, he was here on official business, a member of Intelligence's elite, on a mission that would tear this base apart.  
  
He pored again over his last personal log, trying to make sense of things:  
  
*****************************************************  
  
Begin Personal Log  
  
Stardate: 531803.10  
  
When the men and women who planned Starbase 51 first designed it, it was not intended to be a place of war. It was a way station, a large base meant for refueling, as well as rest and relaxation, when weary travelers passed her by during their treks through the vast reaches of space.  
  
Her location is not prime for intelligence gathering, for defense, or for anything other than simply standing around, it would seem. Why Intelligence would want her is completely by me. Of course, I also have to question the reasoning behind the tactics we are using to unseat Captain Timothy Bailwark. Granted, the information I've gathered on him is quite damning, but one would assume a simple court-martial would do. For Starfleet to use hostile takeover tactics on their own facility intimates that I may be dealing with corruption that goes far deeper than one man. We don't know where things went wrong, but it's obvious now that somehow the Dominion got their hooks into this station rather early on in the game. Using the station's rather extensive sensor arrays and even tapping ship-to- ship communiquÃ©s, there were often easily able to ascertain where we would be in this sector and its neighbors, which explains why we lost so many skirmishes here after the occupation of Cardassia. Something this heinous cannot be the work of someone low in command. After several trips to the station itself, extensive searches of the station's logs, and countless hours of painstaking research, I was finally able to ascertain the primary source of the leaks.Â The depths of this corruption all pointed toward Captain Bailwark, who doubtless determined the price they offered him enough to betray his own kind. The Captain had gotten sloppy... while erasing the record of his transmission, he had failed to make certain that the retained memory of the trashed files had been deleted as well... he left it up to the daily cleansing of the files. Had he known I was on the station, it might have been different. However, luck was on my side, and I happened to catch one of those transmissions right before the system dumped it. Rather sad, really. We don't know for certain yet how many people he employed in his treachery, nor how long he was under the thumb of Dominion rule, but we do know that countless crucial secrets were given away to the enemy from this point.  
  
No more. Starfleet, once it got wind of this, decided to let this become a "special" situation... one that fit outside the glossy veneer of Starfleet dealings. It's come under the rule of the Intelligence branch, and from there to me. What is obvious here is that someone needs to get him off the seat of power... and although we could do it quietly and legally, Intelligence feels an example must be made.  
  
I was chosen for the job, partially because they know that subterfuge is my forte, and partially because they know that there are only a few souls in Intelligence foolish enough to try to take over a station completely alone, without any outside assistance. They can't have this pinned on them if it goes sour... no one wants another Section 31. So I am alone in this, having to hope that only my astounding people skills will aid me in the pursuit of taking this base over.  
  
It's time to incite mutiny. Wish me luck.  
  
End Personal Log  
  
*****************************************************  
  
Thomas quickly flicked the screen off as the bartender shuffled near, grabbing the now grime-encrusted towel from off the counter, peering at Thomas with a look of disgust as if to accuse him for soiling the towel. The bartender shook his head, and with a voice so pleasant that it seemed completely out of place with its horrid countenance.  
  
"Bar closes in ten minutes, bucko. I'm thinking you might want to head out so I can clean up your mess."  
  
Thomas glared at the bartender, finishing off his drink and then striding out the main door. As he walked along the corridors to the turbolift that would take him back to the portion of the docking ring where he had parked his runabout, he considered what changes he would make when the base was his.  
  
That bartender ad just lost his job, and his establishment, in Thomas's head. 


End file.
